About Tim Pimook

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I work with bronze, patina, and time.

My studio practice centers on the dialogue between human craft and natural processes. Each piece begins with observation—tide pools, weathered rock, the way water shapes shorelines over decades. These patterns find their way into wax models, which become bronze castings, which then undergo weeks of chemical treatments to develop surfaces that suggest geological time.

The work emerges from a fascination with transformation: how permanent materials absorb the character of transient forces, how metal can hold the memory of water’s motion, how oxidation becomes a kind of collaboration between intention and chemistry.

Background

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I trained in sculpture and materials science, though much of what informs the work comes from time spent walking coastal areas—the Gulf of Thailand primarily, though also stretches of the Andaman Sea. These walks aren’t research in the academic sense, but they provide the visual vocabulary the studio work draws from.

The bronze-casting process itself is ancient technology, essentially unchanged for thousands of years. There’s something satisfying about using methods that predate modern metallurgy to create work about geological processes that predate human civilization entirely.

Approach

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Each piece starts with direct observation rather than conceptual planning. I’ll spend time at a specific coastal location, often returning multiple times across different tides and seasons. Small wax models accumulate in the studio—not sketches exactly, but three-dimensional notes about form and texture.

The patination process is where much of the real work happens. Unlike paint or glaze, patina develops through controlled oxidation: applying chemical solutions, introducing salt spray, sometimes burying sections in damp sand for days. The results have an element of unpredictability, which feels appropriate for work about natural processes.

Some pieces are designed to continue evolving if placed outdoors. The bronze will acquire authentic weathering over years, adding layers that weren’t present when the work left the studio. This feels more honest than trying to simulate centuries of erosion in a few weeks.

Philosophy

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I’m less interested in making statements about nature than in creating objects that participate in some of nature’s rhythms. The work isn’t meant to represent coastal processes—it’s meant to undergo versions of them.

There’s also something to be said for working slowly. Bronze casting and patina development resist hurrying. The materials enforce a pace that feels increasingly rare, which perhaps gives the work whatever contemporary relevance it has.

Studio

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Based in Thailand, working primarily in bronze with occasional pieces in other metals. The studio has adequate ventilation for patina work, which matters more than most people realize.

Available works can be viewed in the Works section. For inquiries about specific pieces or commission possibilities, see the Contact page.